Music WIP (even though it's not poop)- no crit, just sharing because I'm excited :)

Okay, I did really want to do some artwork for my powder room. I still will. Too many funny things in my head that i need to paint.

I resisted this theme for a bit, then had another idea that didn't pan out.

Then one of my little muses did what she always does, dance. Whenever music is on she is dancing. And when there is no music she makes Alexa play something. I took a million pictures of her dancing. Then made her change into her leotard. Then there was that one shot. The "oh, that's the one!" I drew it this afternoon and painted it after they went to bed tonight.

It was pretty cool. I usually do a time-lapse with my work. No-one has 30 minutes to watch me. I'm not @Lee-White ! Ha But I put on the music that I could see her dancing to. Ones that would have her doing this little arabesque. I think that is what it is called. That was fun. But when I put on "A million dreams" from The Greatest Showman it was like the painting took on a different life. I was simply painting Avery before, but listening to the music I was able to make her dance. Creating movement within the painting.

So, thanks for the theme. No, my painting isn't exactly perfect. It's just a spot illustration. No background or story. Not exactly a portfolio piece (unless you count all my buddies wanting me to paint their kids now, so maybe it will help with business in the future)... But I really love this painting because it tells my little girl how much I love her, how beautiful her mom thinks she is, and how I love her passion for dance. It will hang in my house forever. So thanks SVS for inspiring me to paint my little inspiration. Ha!

ANY TIPS ON GETTING A GOOD SCAN OR PHOTO WOULD BE GREATLY APPRECIATED! I'm horrible at getting my soft watercolors on the computer or copied.

@whitney-simms Regarding scanning: I do mostly watercolor and when I have one that is too big for my scanner I wait for mid day and lay it down flat on a bench in the full sun then take a photo trying to keep my shadow off the piece. LOL. Its not ideal, but it definitely makes for a white white. My only problem is that I don't have a good camera so they are never high res enough to do anything but put on my website. No printing or Society6 products. Good luck! =)x PS, your drawing is lovely.

@burvantill This is the scan. I just feel like it looses something. Most of the time I just beef up my color in my painting. This one was special, so I didn't want to do that. I will totally shoot it tomorrow in the daylight. But I got a little excited and wanted to share it tonight. Silly huh. Thanks for the tips!

I've been told that with watercolor you really want to take photos of it. I was thinking about talking to the local photo high school teacher in town and asking him if he has any students I can pay to take photos of my work, because, like you, my camera is the worst.

@kaitlinmakes I don't even own a camera anymore. How sad it that! Yeah, I need to check out who is into photography in my youth group, or talk to the high school teacher. It's such a pain to go through that trouble unless you have tons of work ready to shoot at one time. Oh well, just one of the crappy things about watercolor. But it is totally my favorite medium and I wouldn't trade it for anything!

@lee-white uh, thanks so dang much! I really appreciate the retouch! And thanks for the compliment. You guys really help stretch our imagination! I love the monthly theme and being able to watch everyone’s work evolve and succeed! Makes us all level up, ha!

It's beautiful! You really downplay it with all your disclaimers. It doesn't need a background, it works perfectly as a spot illustration, and why do you say it's not a portfolio piece? I could totally see this at home in a portfolio.

![0_1534972518247_2476CA63-5AA5-42C9-94CF-077C19E099FC.jpeg](Uploading 100%)@Chip-Valecek thanks so much for your support! Here is my tiny girl.@TessaW thanks for your kind words. I really wasn’t trying to fish for compliments. I’m just a very excitable person. Jazz hands all the way. And I wanted to share my piece. I guess I always think of portfolio pieces with a little more meat to them. I’m pretty terrified of a full background and multiple people. I will tackle it soon. I am working on freehanding the figure. So it seemed like an exercise. You see all the awesome work submitted for the monthly theme. It’s rarely spot illustration. But seriously, thanks for your thoughtful words. That really means so much! I think David Hohn was saying “have your words that you are trying to convey.” And you guys totally got my objective with this piece. Movement, simplicity and elegance.

@whitney-simms not silly! I have to forcefully restrain myself from posting the SECOND I am done with something for the day. Lol. Especially to Instagram since I’m trying to make that look more professional. It’s not working .